


Arctic

by AnonymousMyself



Series: Imagine [15]
Category: Eldarya (Video Game)
Genre: Drowning, F/M, I'm Not Ashamed, Nakedness, Near Death Experiences, POV Second Person, Sick Character, Snow and Ice, Teasing, and even more nakedness, fluff?, nor sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2018-11-29 19:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11447904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousMyself/pseuds/AnonymousMyself
Summary: Imagine that your OTP is not yet a couple. Person A falls into freezing water and passes out. Person B pulls them to safety but now needs to get Person A out of their wet clothes and into something dry. (from otpprompts)Aka I had a dream and decided to write it down as a fic





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Idk if it's ooc but I had to share it lol.  
> This here took me quite some time to write and then edit and honestly it's my longest drabble for Eldarya of them all, I'm so proud of it, God.
> 
> If you notice any errors, I'd be thankful if you tell me bc I could miss some things while proof-reading it in the night >.>

“Shit” you breath out as you quickly unclasp the fastening of your cloak and force your boots off, the sweater, pants and socks following right after before you jump in the freezing water. You force the ready to escape breath to stay in your lungs as your eyes open and search through the icy liquid, quickly catching a glimpse of blue that you immediately reach for.

Your right arm wraps around the cloaked chest while your left helps your legs as they work hard to get you to the surface, adrenaline somehow keeping you conscious and strong enough to reach the sharp edge of the blowhole the man accidentally cracked in the ice.

The nails of your free hand scratch the slippery surface as you fight to keep your head over the water, before a swirly blue antler is almost showed at your face and you thankfully grab on it to let the animal help you get yourself and the elf out of the water.

The air is even colder now as you cough out the little bit of water that got in your system when you almost fell back under the surface, but you still have work to do. And as you ignore the cold and embracing him across his chest drag Ezarel further from the danger, you lift your eyes once more at the danalasm.

“Find a cave” it bows its head slightly and dashes over the snow-covered ice and ground while you turn back to the unconscious man.

You check for the breath and curse when you find none, quickly moving your lips onto his.

‘He’ll kill me later’ you think as you give him five breaths, before your palms land on his chest to continue the resuscitation until a choke on the water comes but no signs of returning consciousness arrive.

When you’re sure he breathes again you pause before proceeding with what you know has to be done. Your teeth chatter from cold, so you throw your cloak around your shoulders before you unbutton his outerwear with your already numb fingers. It’s hard but not impossible and soon enough only the underwear is left and as you close your eyes and turn your head to the side, your face burning, you force your hands to get rid of those too, before shrugging the cloak off of you and wrapping him in it the best you can while not looking... too much. You know you can use a blanket for that but it’s deep in your bag and you as well are aware that it’ll take forever to unfasten it with the current state of your hands.

A thought passes your mind that if not because of the “kiss”, you’re definitely going to get killed now if the elf learns about the fact you just  _stripped_   _him_ , but honestly it’s the last thing you should care about now. It’s now you who you have to take care of and you think little as you shrug off your underwear before quickly pulling your remaining clothes on. They’re already cold from being left alone yet still dry and you know they’ll save you from freezing to death as your quickly rub your arms to bring some warmth back to your shivering body.

You prop Ezarel’s head on your lap, your hand placed close enough to his nose to keep watch on his breathing, while you look around, waiting for your companion's return. The white drifts surrounding you make the scene seem even more surreal than it is. Calm, although your hearth is racing still from the all emotions bubbling in your heart even since you heard the crack. You two have been too reckless to walk through the wet grounds, even with the grand frost that iced them over. After all, it’s never been a secret to you that in places like this the water often stays a little warmer right below the surface, not to mention the places with naturally weak ice that happen as long as the temperature does not go under twenty Celsius degrees for three days straight.

You thought this world would work a little different than the one you come from, but that made you forget the fact physics laws have proven to you many times to work similarly in both worlds.

Just then from the white surrounding you jumps a flash of blue and gold, and you let out a breath of relief.

It takes you much more time than you’d like to get to the cave it found, since not only do you have to drag the elf there but also pay close attention to your cloak so that it does not accidentally slip off of him as you flounder through the snowdrifts while staying alert in case you accidentally slipped from the solid ground to the ice again. And when you finally reach your destination you’re out of breath.

Yet, you’re far from having the right to rest.

“Go find something suitable for a fire, Eve” gasping, you instruct your familiar when it drops the clothes and bags you made it bring here for you and it immediately disappears outside, leaving you alone with the unconscious man and your things.

You place Ezarel in the further end of the cave (which by the way turns to be quite large) to save him from the possible move of the air close to the entrance and now you’re fighting with the bags’ fastenings to get all the necessary things out.

The blankets go first – you wrap the elf in them, giving him yours as well, while again checking whether he’s still breathing. You’re honestly just happy he dropped his bag when falling in the water, since thanks to that you can provide him with more warmth and first of all  _dry underwear_. Which is incredibly hard to put on him while doing your best not to look.

Eve is quick to bring you enough firewood to make a small fire before it comes with more and when you finish the work on making the entrance smaller in order to keep more warmth in the cave, you allow yourself to sit close to it by the elf and eat a piece of bread and cheese you took out of your food supplies, the fingers of your free hand lightly brushing through damp blue hair.

It’s then that you have the time and are calm enough to fully reminisce on the happenings, do you remember how your heart stopped when suddenly the always smug man disappeared under the snow. A sour expression clouds your face as you study his currently calm features, your hand slipping to the still icy cold skin of his face and neck. You’ll be needing to warm him up soon if you want him to stay alive, you realise.

* * *

 Sensation comes to him in drifts. Secure is the first he registers.

Warm is the second.

He can hear the cheerful crack of wood chips burning, feel their smell mixed with the freshness of the winter air and some sweeter tint he knows from somewhere he’s not sure of.

He finds some peaceful pleasure in it all, but the warmth is the nicest. The most of it is pressed to his back, some of it resting on his side and sliding to his chest ending there in a form of a hand. – His eyes snap open.

His vision’s blurry at first but he easily recognises the shape of the fire burning in the centre of dark rocks lit by echoes of it. A white and gold spotty coat of a napping danalasm a little further away from it.

His memory stirs as his hand closes on a smaller palm pressing to the centre of his chest. You two walking through the snow, him making fun of your annoyance due to the lack of attraction and the cracking sound coming from under his feet. Too quick for him to react.

“You’re awake. Good...” you slip your hand out of his before leaving the warmth of the joined blankets, hands immediately darting to your clothes neatly folded on the rocky ground.

“What... why are we  _naked_?” you let out a small squeak as he turns to you putting on your sweater.

“We’re not naked” you huff, an unwanted warmth spreading over your neck “Mostly.”

Belatedly, he realises he has some underwear on, his cheeks flaring up still as he refuses to look away from you putting on your pants.

“Did you...  _have you_..?”

You wrap yourself in your cloak and sit down close by him, your hand darting to his forehead to check the temperature as small smirk tugs the corner of your lip up.

“What will be more fun? Me telling you the truth or leaving you to your own imagination?” you copy what he’s once told you and he slaps away your hand.

“Never mind” he grumbles and you let a smile slip on your lips.

“Worry not, I didn’t look too hard-”

He shots you a dirty look and you cackle at this before you crawl closer to the fire, some of the shared warmth you got from contact with him withering away already. It’s not an often occurrence for you to tick him off so easily.

“Was it really necessary?” when you send him questioning glance he brings the blankets closer, red still tinting his ears as he looks up at you with a tired pout.

“Body heat’s more effective with skin-on-skin contact and if I didn’t keep your temperature up you wouldn’t wake up at all. I think you know that.” You shrug, bringing the material closer to your face to hide the colour it gains as you talk. You wish you could’ve stayed wrapped in the blankets pressed to the man’s back but knowing him it is out of the question. And you really don’t want to anger him more, especially seeing you’ve crossed so many lines already.

When you look up from the fire, you notice golden eyes staring at you from the other side of the cave. Your familiar pricking up its ears before it lays its head back down on the rocks, its antlers glinting in the fire’s light.

You turn when you hear Ezarel calling your name.

“Get back over here,” You blink your eyes, not really registering what he’s just ordered you to do “Before I change my mind.”

“Are you seriously offering me to snuggle up to you  _naked_?”

A playful smile slips on his lips on that.

“It’s a special offer. It expires in three, two-”

“Wait!” you get up a little too abruptly, your coat falling to the ground behind you and the elf snorts at your reaction.

“Did you really take me seriously? Pervert” he muses and you send him a murderous glare before with visible annoyance lifting your outerwear from the ground.

“Idiot” you shot back “It’d really be better-”

“It’s good to see you angry again” he comments with a smile, before sighing “But I was actually serious. Even most children know hypothermia’s very dangerous and you’re obviously cold already. We’d both use that anyway.”

You rise a brow before without a word stepping closer and slipping off your clothes, leaving only your underwear intact. He sighs but says nothing as he lifts the blankets for you to slip under them and when you do, he brings your back to his chest.

“Now, that’s better. It’s me touching you and not the other way” he murmurs and you roll your eyes.

“I should have really left you in that lake” you comment and that gains you a chuckle resonating through your back.

“You wouldn’t survive a day without me here to babysit you” he shots back, pocking your side and you let out a squeal.

“Oh believe me, you’re only a nuisance” you huff in response but being turned away from him do not see the fond smile forming on his lips.

“You may be saying that, but you still love me.”

“Who sane would love an ass like you?” you grumble, but from the fact you’re still stiff ever since his comment and one other detail visible on the skin of your neck and ears, he knows he hit the sore point.

“Right, sure” He lets out a sigh and pushes his face in your hair, deciding it’s best to leave you alone for now. He’ll thank you tomorrow, now it’s better to give out to the tiredness pulling at his eyelids and as he noticed earlier, yours too.

And as you two finally fall asleep a pair of golden eyes keeps their watch over you.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People asked for it so I tried to write it and now I hate it, idk what I even wrote but enjoy ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

You stir as slender fingers run through your hair, they press in your scalp, slowly massaging it before once again brushing down to the end of the strands. It feels soft, great, honestly makes you all fuzzy inside as you let yourself be engulfed by the warmth around you, while listening to the steady beat by your ear.

You let out a content sigh before a question crosses your mind about what exactly the sound is and you force your eyes open to answer your question.

"Good morning."

You only barely manage to keep in the surprised sound (shriek) from leaving your mouth when your eyes set on Ezarel's grinning face. You're lying on his chest, one arm flung around him in an angle that makes his cover it as he strokes your hair, while your other palm rests right over his heartbeat, close to your face. You move to sit up but his other arm draped tightly around your waist keeps you in place and suddenly you feel very, very,  _ very _ uncomfortable.

"Did you sleep well?"

Why does he appear so calm all of a sudden!? Doesn't he see the position you two landed in? And  _ NAKED _ (almost) TO THAT!??

"What the-" the corner of his lips twitches up and your right eye twitches in response "Ez, why am I laying on you?" you're not sure whether the heat rushing to your face comes from rage or something else but you know it’s visible and that’s not making it better either.

"I don't know" he muses.

"What do you mean,  _ you don't know _ ?" you press on, while once again trying to free yourself from this ridiculous situation. It's honestly the worst scenario you could get yourself into, considering the closeness and what it does to your racing heart.  _ You itch to move just this little closer up and- _

"That I don’t know. - We both woke up like this" he replies with a smile while you beat yourself in your mind for the thoughts crossing it.

"Then why didn't you throw me off yourself yet?" you're desperately wriggling now, not really noticing the frown slowly making its way on his face.

"I didn't feel like it."

Now,  _ that _ makes you stop and send him an incredulous look, before your right arm darts forward as you try but fail to see whether he's got a fever.

" _Stop_ _moving_." The hand that was entangled in your hair moves lower and presses right below your neck making it even harder to move and after another short struggle you do as he told you.

"What has gotten into you?" a whine leaves your lips as you let your body slack against his (as much as the tension in it from the well too intimate position lets you, that is).

"Thank you," he relaxes as well, the hand that was earlier brushing your hair returning to its previous task "for saving me... Again."

“You’re welcome” you mumble in response while looking at your hand that once again rests over his heart.

He hums in response and the two of you stay in that way for a while longer until his stomach loudly request attention.

“You hadn’t eaten!” you shot him a glare and move to get up and this time he lets you do so without a protest, embarrassment clearly showing on his face.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can we call this a payback of sorts?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made myself write and this came out. I'm sorry.

You get clothed in silence and eat in silence, the atmosphere turning awkward immediately after you slip out of the warmth of the blankets. You tell yourself to ignore the judging stare Eve gives you the whole time you get ready to depart.

If it were for you, you’d demand the two of you stayed in the cave for a day longer to make sure he’s okay to go, but you know the mission’s more important and also if you stay, your rations will not suffice till the end of your journey.

It takes you two less than half an hour to be out in the snow again, your companion following you closely this time instead of dashing over the snow drifts before you. It must be worried something bad happens again and neither you, nor Ezarel, comment on that, focused on getting safely to the town where Ezarel’s supposed to officially investigate the occuring issue of the mysterious disappearances occurring there while you are going to do the same but staying undercover.

It’s still two days until then though and in that a day before the two of you should part in order to arrive separately. But as the first day passes and you get up with difficulties the morning after, you need to support yourself on the tree you rested under in order to not trip and black out completely. As your free hand shots up to your temple you do not realise Ezarel’s moving to your side until you’re pressed to his chest. His palm presses to your neck and he curses in elvish, before pulling you back towards the ground and seating you on his lap as you lean on him for support.

Your head is pounding and you barely take the moment to think how you do not approve of the fact the man is pushing your outer clothes off you because you’d rather keep your dignity. All you can think of is that this is the stupidest thing to do when it’s so fucking _cold_ and your teeth are chattering against each other and you can’t stop the loud whine from leaving your lips when the cold air hits your skin.

You curl up shivering in his arms as Ezarel lifts you and you hear him apologise (which is weird, because you just can’t get him now but then again-) before he unceremoniously drops you in the snow drift.

“ _Cold,_ ” you wheeze out as you flail your hands to the sides, desperately fighting to get out the snow, but only more of it is thrown at you as a hand on your shoulder keeps you in place while you let a chain of curses flow out of your mouth.

They die out as the feeling of coldness turns into one of numbness and tiredness coming from the exercise and sickness pulls at your eyelids; and after some more time passes, Ezarel pulls you out of the drift and wraps you tightly in a set of blankets before pushing your face in the crook of his neck.

“You’re hopeless,” he mutters and you growl in response.

“And you’re an asshole,” you shot back tiredly, your body already relaxing in his embrace.

“You were much too hot. You wouldn’t survive long with such high fever.”

“I’m always hot.”

You smile tiredly when he laughs at your words, fingers brushing through your hair in that soothing way that has you in half-sleep in a matter of seconds.

“Just rest. I’ll take care of you, idiot.”


End file.
